Melky Cabrera is a reminder that cheaters are difficult to profile. He’s a quiet guy who doesn’t hit many home runs or crave attention. He didn’t take a performance-enhancing drug to break any records. His motivation was simple: break the bank.

He will be a free agent at season’s end, and guys who finish in the top five of the MVP voting get paid a lot more than fourth outfielders. So he crossed the line, broke the rules and shattered the trust of his San Francisco teammates, who surprisingly and refreshingly reacted to his mistake with disgust.

Their opinion of him — and no one it seems was pushing to bring him back — says a lot about how the culture of steroids has changed the last several years. It’s not the Wild West anymore. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, guys were more likely to be ostracized if they didn’t cheat, either by taking steroids or amphetamines. I vividly remember a minor-leaguer telling me more than a decade ago that he couldn’t wait until he got on a 40-man roster so he could take steroids. At the time, there was testing only in the minor leagues.

Everything is different now. Players have grown up with a system of testing.

The reason is money, ego. Professional sports athletes, in many cases, are type-A personalities. They are driven to succeed in ways that are unhealthy. Win at all costs earned the right to be a cliché.

Knowing that guys will cheat, players need to take an even tougher stand against performance-enhancing drugs. The penalties should be more harsh. I am warming to manager Kirk Gibson’s idea of a one-year ban for a first-time offense. That’s a potential career killer and a real deterrent.

More important, baseball needs to invest in carbon testing for synthetic testosterone. This is quickly becoming the route for lawbreakers, as evidenced by the recent positive tests from track athletes to boxers. Victor Conte, who was at the epicenter of the BALCO scandal, calls it the loophole in the program. MLB officials dismiss him as a rogue convict. But if you want to know about drugs, you don’t ask the honor student who’s never had caffeine. Conte knows how to beat the system.

He believes that the 4-to-1 testosterone levels allowed is a joke. Fast-acting testosterone leaves the system in six to eight hours, so a player could play with an elevated level and still test negative after a game. Conte said the carbon isotope ratio test should be used — it’s more expensive — because it can detect synthetic testosterone.

Testosterone doesn’t help you hit home runs. But when you feel the same Aug. 1 as you did April 1, that’s a huge advantage in a sport where rest and recovery are central to performance.

The majority of the players, I firmly believe, want a clean sport. They need to make their voice heard and demand stronger discipline and the carbon test.

Footnotes. Relievers are wonderfully odd. They typically have the sharpest sense of humor on the team. So it should come as no surprise that some Rockies, with apologies to Justin Timberlake, have a new saying: “Bringing Piggy Back.” I would love to see that play when one of them trotted in from the bullpen. … No, this year’s Brewers bullpen isn’t the worse yet. The 2004 Rockies hold the record with 34 blown saves, the season of the failed Shawn Chacon closer experiment. … Top pick David Dahl continues to impress folks in Grand Junction. He’s being compared to Andy Van Slyke. … The ump show in the major leagues continues, making me wonder if robots would be better. The arrogance of umpires remains an issue. Angel Campos ejected three Dodgers on Thursday, including a toss of Matt Kemp that seems petty at best and wrong at worst. He told Kemp to zip it. Kemp followed with encouragement of teammate Andre Ethier. “Let’s go ‘Dre” earned him an ejection. Manager Don Mattingly backed Kemp’s version. Umpires can draw lines in the sand. They deserve respect. But they can’t continue to have rabbit ears and seek confrontation. … Chipper Jones is staging a memorable farewell season. The only question now is whether it will lure him back. He says no. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Atlanta legend and future Hall of Famer returned, especially if the Braves don’t have a fulfilling playoff run.

Background: This summer in Coopers- town, N.Y., there was a Miguel Cabrera rookie baseball card priced at $20. It seemed about right. But it didn’t look right. The guy on the card had a different complexion, was about 50 pounds lighter and five years older. Turns out, it was the wrong guy. It only seems like Cabrera has been around forever. He debuted as a 20-year-old during the Marlins’ 2003 World Series run. He hasn’t stopped living in the spotlight since.

What’s up: While his life off the field has been tainted by admitted drinking issues and a DUI, Cabrera’s performance has never dipped. As fellow Venezuelan Carlos Gonzalez said, “He could roll out of bed and hit.” Lost in the Tigers’ underachieving, Cabrera is putting together a season worthy of MVP consideration. Manager Jim Leyland has lamented that “Wonder Boy” Mike Trout of the Angels is getting too much attention for his exploits, which is stumping Cabrera.

Renck’s take: Cabrera is Albert Pujols; just younger. At 29, Cabrera has no weakness offensively. Leyland told Detroit reporters, “He can hit a ball 500 feet or he can hit it over the first baseman’s head.” Cabrera entered the weekend with 61 extra-base hits and his strikeout rate has gone down. He hits well behind in the count, at night, during the day and against lefties and righties. He has nine consecutive 100-RBI seasons and six consecutive seasons of 30 home runs. So how can he not be the MVP? He might not be the best player on his team — ranking behind star pitcher Justin Verlander and center fielder Austin Jackson. Let’s not forget, he has bodyguard Prince Fielder in the lineup. The case against Cabrera, and for Trout, is the Detroit slugger is a statue defensively. If he gets to the ball, he can make the play but doesn’t have much range. In fairness, he’s playing out of position to accommodate Fielder. Cabrera is not my MVP, but with the Angels spiraling, it’s too early to say he won’t be in six weeks.

THREE UP

1. Nationals: Their winning percentage in games not started by Stephen Strasburg would leave them on a 97-win pace. So there’s that.

2. Rays: Get no-hit? No problem. Not with David Price dealing and Evan Longoria swinging.

Troy joined The Denver Post in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role before the 2015 season. He is a past president of the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America and has won more than 20 local and national writing awards since graduating from the University of Colorado journalism school with honors in 1993.

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